Deer & Deer Hunting Forums: White Tail Deer Hunting Forum

I am want to invest in a trail cam but not sure if I should get an IR or a normal flash for night photos. What do yall think? Does the regular flash spoke deer, and brands do you like and should i steer clear of?

I have never used a camera with a "normal" flash but have used IR and haven't seen any indication that they have spooked deer. Funny thing though, my IR camera makes almost no noise when taking a picture but almost every deer is looking directly at the lens when the first picture is taken. I have mine on 3 shot burst set 1 minute apart. After the first picture deer always go back to feeding or doing what they were doing and the last two pics they don't look at the camera. It is amazing how good there senses are.

I have regular flash and IR flash cameras. It is funny about the IR, because I have the same thing. The deer look right at the camera when its taking pictures, way more often than with my regular flash cameras. The regular flash doesnt seem to bother the deer. I normally get two or three pics of the same deer just hanging out. Something about the IR flash cameras actually seems to attract the deer's attention, though it doesnt appear to spook them. If I bought another camera, I would probably just get a regular flash camera. My regular flash cameras get better range at night than the IR cameras, but that could also just be a difference in the brands. Perhaps a higher end IR flash camera would be better than the one I have.

The only negative point I have with my IR camera is that its no-flash during day light hours, so during low light at dawn and dusk, a lot of the pictures are lost because of the transition time between no-flash at all and the IR kicking in. I get a lot of either white-out type pictures, or so dark I cant see anything at those times of day. But my IR camera is a Wildgame Innovations camera. Its a less expensive camera, so I dont know if that has something to do with the occasional poor picture quality. Otherwise, when it takes a decent picture, I have no complaints, which is most of the time.

Ive heard good things about the Bushnell camera. I have a friend that has one and he loves it.

I also use the Moultrie D40, I have two of those, they are regular flash. I have had good luck with them. Sometimes the deer are blurry from moving. Im not sure what causes that. But I have had them for a couple years and they work good. Other than some blurry pictures now and then, they have worked good. I get good battery life and the trigger speed has been average.

I am yet to hear bad things about Cuddebacks. They are more expensive, but it sounds like its worth the investment. I think if you wanted to feel sure about getting something good, you could feel confident buying a cuddeback.

As far as the IR compared to flash, it's still a debate with myself about which one is better. You read that deer aren't scared of regular flash then you read an article they are, you read that deer can see IR light but then you hear they can. I do know that regular flash take better pictures.

I've always used moultries and bought a cuddeback last year and won't ever go back to a cheaper camera, it's great, no more deer butts and it only takes 4 "D" batteries compared to 6 and seems to last longer.

I have deer that come into my side yard all the time. I set up a cam just to see if anything big was coming in late. I was up early one morning drinking coffee and smoking on the back porch before light. I saw a doe coming in to the corn pile where the camera was set up. She walked right to where she was supposed to "click" "flash" she looks at the camera then goes back to eating. A short time later, "click" "flash" she looks and gives a big smile then goes back to eating. I watched four pics actually taken before i had to get into the shower. The only flinch she made was at the "click" it made her look at the camera just in time for the flash, she never picked a foot up or turned in any way as if she was scared. Granted these deer don't run when my dog is in the yard either, however the camera and flash had never been there before.

I don't own one and I have never seen anyone use them but I have heard the the Wild Game Innovations cameras are junk. Like I said I have only heard that so take it for what it is. That is why I think you were having problems with whiteout pictures late/early in the day. I use a Moultrie IR and love it. Not sure of the exact model but I haven't had any problems with whiteout pictures or anything really. Batteries last a long time, good picture quality and no butt pictures.

I currently own all types of cameras, from Bushnell, HCO Scoutgard, Moultrie, Cuddeback, and Stealthcam. They all have there pros and cons. I have flash and I have IR cameras, the best so far in my book is the cuddeback which is a capture, the HCO, and the Bushnell. I just ordered two Spypoint cameras, check them out at www.spypoint.com I can't wait to get them in and start posting some pictures. I don't find that all cameras spook game, but the slower they are or if they make noise with a filter over the lens like the Moultrie I have you will get deer looking at it everytime. Just my two cents worth.

i don't have any trailcams myself, but my dad bought a StealthCam this year to help with scouting. He's been very unhappy with the fact that he gets a ridiculous amount of pictures of nothing but the scenery. he has captured a few decent pics, but we recently checked it.... of the 60 new pics, there were only 4 that had deer in them... is that a shutter speed issue? we tried it out at home, and if you were walking straight at the camera it got a pic of you, but if you were walking past it at a normal walking speed, nothing but background... anyone else found this with stealthcams?